Actress/singer Johnson remembered for voice, presence

The 34-year-old Northern Colorado arts fixture died Sunday in her sleep.

Feb. 5, 2013

Actress Angela Johnson, left, is shown here in a photo with fellow actor and friend Jalyn Webb during a run of the show 'Fiddler on the Roof.' Johnson's death Sunday night has left the Northern Colorado theater community reeling. / Courtesy of Jalyn Webb

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Memorial service

A memorial service for Angela Johnson will be at 9 a.m. Friday at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 3800 Mountain Lion Drive, Loveland.

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The Northern Colorado theater community is reeling after the sudden death of Angela Johnson.

The 34-year-old Loveland actress/singer died in her sleep Sunday night; the cause is still under investigation, according to the Larimer County Coroner’s Office.

A fixture in the musical theater scene for more than a decade, Johnson was renowned for her voice and positive presence, on stage and off.

“Her character was supposed to be a bad singer and we had to keep telling Angela to stop singing so pretty,” laughed Jalyn Webb, remembering working with Johnson in the 2009 production “Curtains.”

“It is a loss so deep because she was so connected to and so loved by everyone,” said Webb, who first met Johnson as a teacher at the Fort Collins Academy of Arts. Johnson was a student at Loveland High School and already active in theater. Over the years, the two became close friends and worked together on a number of productions for various companies, including Loveland’s Up in Lights Productions and Greeley’s Union Colony Dinner Theatre.

“I don’t think there is a performer in Northern Colorado who hasn’t worked with her,” she said. On Tuesday, Johnson’s Facebook page was filled with hundreds of messages from fellow performers and friends, recalling the impact she had on their lives.

“You see all these people posting and you realize what an impact she made on everyone’s lives,” said Kristi Siedow-Thompson, who performed alongside Johnson in the Union Colony Dinner Theatre production of “The Taffetas.” “It’s amazing how many lives she touched and how many people she made smile... No one is ever going to forget her. (The theater world) is going to be a little empty for a while.”

Even when she wasn’t on stage, Johnson was never far from it, working at the box office at the Candlelight Dinner Playhouse, where she also performed in several shows.

Despite the drama associated with the world of drama, Candlelight General Manager Dave Clark said Johnson always had a calming influence and a positive attitude that affected everyone she came into contact with.

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It was a minor blessing that the box office isn’t open on Mondays as it would have been difficult to work after hearing the news, he said. The somber atmosphere Tuesday was slightly eased by the idea that, as Clark noted, “I’m sure they have heavenly choirs and she’ll be a part of them.”

Johnson threw herself into everything fully, said Britni Girard, who knew of Johnson long before she met her when they both were cast in Front Range Community Theatre’s production of “Oklahoma.” One of those things was her blog, Tangents by Angela, where she commented on everything from personal insights to her annual Academy Award predictions.

“She always knew the most interesting facts about anything, whether it was a about a show or a TV series,” Girard said. “Anything she was interested in, she would envelope herself in it completely.”

Despite her young age, Johnson was always the person everyone looked up to, regardless of their age, Girard said.

“She was someone that we all aspired to be like,” she said. “I will miss her wit and charm and her quirky, fun way of looking at life ... She was the person that everyone rooted for in everything that she did.”

Johnson had a genuine love for being on the stage, whether she was playing the lead or second girl on the right, said Webb, noting that Johnson’s favorite shows were “Titanic” and “Fiddler on the Roof,” in which she played the eldest daughter Tzeitel.

“Whenever I direct, I have a catch phrase ‘risk and joy,’ and she was always willing to take the risk in order to get the joy, every time.”